Man-Up
by MaryandMerlin
Summary: At a friend's wedding Albus pines for a beautiful girl, but when he finally finds the courage to approach her he makes a stupid mistake. ASP/OC RW/SM One-Shot


**Hello! Here I am with another one-shot. I'm sort of proud of this one, I think it's actually quite cute tbh. I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

 **Hogwarts Assignment:**

 **Muggle Studies - Write about a pureblood who tries to pretend to be a muggle (and the reason why they do it). EP: (genre) humour, (location) NYC**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise!**

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Man-Up

"She is going to notice you eventually, you know."

"Shut up."

"I hope you're aware that staring is creepy and generally frowned upon. It's going to ruin your already slim chances."

"Shut up, Scorpius."

"Well, if you weren't being so damn creepy I wouldn't have to-"

"For Merlin's sake man, SHUT UP!"

Scorpius spluttered into his drink, eyes wide, trying not to laugh as Albus rounded on him. His friend was red in the face, eyes flashing. His raised voice had attracted the attention of half of the ballroom, including the object of his unwavering attention. Scorpius recovered his composure and casually sipped at the muggle lager in his hand. He threw Albus a wicked look, his eyes full of mischief. "I told you she'd notice if you kept staring," he mocked.

"Boys!" Rose popped up between them just as Albus was about to lunge for Scorpius' throat. She was a vision in emerald silk, all soft curves and tight curls. She slipped her arm through Scorpius' letting her fingers dig in as a warning to match her careful smile. _Do not cause a scene!_ "This is such a lovely occasion!" she announced in an overly loud voice. "I want to dance, come dance with me Scorpius." Rose flashed a charming smile through gritted teeth and started to drag her fiancé away. "Oh," she added as an afterthought, "do man-up Albus, she won't bite."

Albus scowled at his cousin and best friend as they slipped into the crowd and began dancing. With the source of his ire removed, Albus deflated and his nerves returned in full force. Pushing a hand through his thick, black hair, Albus risked a glance at her. They were right, she was still looking at him. Her eyes were bright a sparkled with curiosity. Albus sucked in a deep breath, squared his shoulders and plastered his most charming smile on his face. With the donning of this armour, Albus crossed the ballroom.

"Don't."

As first words went it really wasn't what he had been expecting. Her blunt, single syllable rejection completely threw him. Any confidence or game plan that Albus had hoped to employ disintegrated – he literally missed a step, stumbling to a stop at her side.

"What?"

She raised a perfect eyebrow at him. Hazel eyes sparkled – they were mostly brown but at this proximity Albus could see they were speckled with green. "You have been staring at me for the better part of an hour," she stated. Her voice held a slight twang, not quite as broad as the accents that surrounded them – they were in New York City, completely on the wrong side of the pond – but softer somehow. "No matter what elaborate scheme or angle you and your blonde friend have concocted, it will not work."

Recovering slightly, Albus quirked his own eyebrow at her, allowing a confident smirk to settle on his lips. "How can you be so sure?"

"It's simple. We are at a magical wedding. Over there is the bride, a witch; she is my cousin. Chances are that you are a wizard, whilst I have the sorry status of 'muggle' in this charade" her brow creased in distaste at the word. "I have absolutely no desire to involve myself any further in your world, thank you very much."

Albus was initially surprised, shocked almost to the point of being speechless. He had not expected such a put down barely 3 minutes into their conversation. It seemed, however, that just about all his functions had shut down including the little voice in his head that told him not to say something. "Oh! I'm not a wizard, oh no." As soon as the words left his mouth, Albus felt himself shrivel in mortification. Of course he was a wizard, how on earth was he supposed to pretend to be a muggle? "No, I'm just about as muggle as they come! So, you have absolutely no excuse." Still the ridiculous lies poured from his lips. There didn't seem to be any stopping it now.

The look she gave him was dry, obviously she wasn't buying a word that tumbled from his mouth for a second – but a sparkle in her eyes and a quirk of her lips told him that she was at least amused by him.

"I must be looking very pretty tonight to make you tell such an outrageous lie," she mused. "I may be a simple muggle, but even I know who you are, Albus Potter." She smirked at him, triumphant, and spun on her heel walking away.

"I'll owl you!" he called after her, nothing to lose. Her answering laugh made Albus smile. He smiled all night.

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 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


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